On Wednesday 12 May, the European Commission authorised the Italian State to pay €12.8 million in aid to the airline Alitalia, which, like the rest of the sector, is facing a historic drop in activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic (see EUROPE 12710/26).
The Italian aid is deemed to be “in line with EU State aid rules”, and is aimed at compensating the airline for the damages suffered on certain routes due to the Covid-19 outbreak during the month of January 2021.
The aid will take the form of a direct grant, corresponding to the estimated amount of damage directly caused to the airline over this period.
The total amount of damage compensation aid in favour of Alitalia, which has been notified by Italy and approved by the Commission, is now more than €310 million.
The company Alitalia is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the rescue negotiations between Mario Draghi’s government and the European Commission have reached an impasse.
On 23 April 2018, the Commission opened a formal investigation regarding loans totalling €900 million, which were granted to Alitalia by Italy in 2017.
On 28 February 2020, the Commission opened a separate formal investigation concerning an additional €400 million loan granted by Italy in October 2019.
Both investigations are ongoing. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)